Landing a short distance away, Kaede’s drone created a forcefield sphere around the three of us, preventing anyone from interfering.
“Kaede!” I screamed. I tried to rush forward, but Ryzen wrapped an arm around me. “Kaede!”
“Are you insane?” Ryzen hissed. “He is the enemy!”
“Unhand her!” Kaede growled, flashing his fangs. “She isn’t yours!”
“Let me go!” I screamed, wiggling in the emerald twin’s embrace. “He’s mine!”
“I can’t let you do this, Selena.” Ryzen shook his head. “He knows our location and just ruptured our lifedome. I can’t allow you to go to him.”
Everything about Kaede screamed lethal power as he stalked closer. I could feel the rage radiating off him, demanding obedience.
“Unhand her now and we will leave in peace. Resist and die!” he snarled. “Your choice.”
“Call off your drones and I’ll let her go.”
“Do you think I’m stupid?” He spat, chopping the air with his hand. “My drones aren’t even attacking unless they are attacked. You started this fight with your psy-daggers.”
“Kaede, just do what he says, please,” I begged, clawing at Ryzen’s arm. “I just want to go home.”
He stared at me in silence for a moment, then sighed. Slowly, the drones started to retreat. He offered me his hand. “I called them off. Now give me Selena so we can leave.”
“Are you sure about this, Selena?” Ryzen asked, yanking me back once more. “We could get you a ride home.”
“You don’t understand. I know him!”
“You know him?” His voice was laced with shock. “How?”
“Yes!” I beamed. “He’s my guard!”
“How did he find us?”
“I followed the Stars and they led me here,” Kaede replied. “Now that you know our connection, give me back my liege.”
“As you wish.”
Chapter Twenty-Two Kaede
Kaede’s senses were overwhelmed, input assaulting him from all angles.
If he’d had his way, he would’ve just murdered the entire base simply for their association with the one who had taken what was his.
The psy-dagger-wielding pretty boy who prevented Selena from reaching him just pissed him off even more. Didn’t these people understand the power he wielded?
As soon as the defeated male dropped his arm from Selena’s waist, she dashed toward him and jumped into his arms, wrapping hers around his neck. He lifted her off the ground as she twined her legs around him, locking her feet at the ankles.
Her scent smacked into him like a wall, dizzying him.
“Kaede,” she sobbed into his shoulder. “I missed you so much, you don’t understand.”
“I believe I do,” he whispered, watching his surroundings.
As soon as he had called off the drones, brave souls had started emerging from their dens. He was just waiting for one of them to attack him—and dared the foolish to try.
< REI. KEEP WATCH. WE DON’T KNOW IF THESE ARE STRONG TELEPATHS. UNTIL WE DO, ONLY SPEAK VIA THE AI SYSTEM. >
< UNDERSTOOD. >
< RETURN THE DRONES TO ME. IF THEY WANT TO FIGHT DIRTY, I CAN, TOO. >
< CONFIRMED. >
All the drones were reentering the lifedome in stealth mode. He was determined to follow his instincts and avoid repeating his mistakes. These people couldn’t be trusted; they had just proven that.
“Which one of you is Xenak?” Kaede snarled. “I have a warning for him.”
“Oh, do tell.” A sarcastic, cyan-runed male appeared from the shadows, kicking off from a wall. “Kaede, is it? You were the one who failed to protect Selena. You’re the reason she is here.”
Now that he had seen both runed males in the flesh, it was obvious they were twins. If one brother could control nine psy-daggers, it was safe to assume that Xenak was capable of similar attacks.
“No, you are the reason she’s here,” he snapped, gripping Selena tightly. “If you had any decency, I wouldn’t have had to go to such lengths to retrieve what is mine.”
“But she isn’t yours, is she?”
“Don’t listen to the ishing frax, Kaede,” Selena begged. “I’m here, in your arms, right now. That’s all that matters.”
He could be diplomatic and ignore him, but he had to put the male in his place.
< REI. PLACE FIVE DRONES ON STUN. HAVE THEM AIM AND FIRE AT WILL ON XENAK. ONLY DISABLE AND RETURN THEM WHEN WE ARE ABOUT TO LEAVE. >
< CONFIRMED. >
The sweet sound of a stun laser firing, followed by a loud thud, was music to his ears. Odelm had rubbed off on him after all. Music made everything better.
“Kaede,” Selena hissed, twisting in their embrace. “What did you do?”
“What did you do to my brother?” the emerald male demanded, his nine psy-daggers dancing around him in some sort of protective shield.
“You have nothing to worry about.” Kaede chuckled. “I only stunned him. Next time he decides to test me, I won’t be as lenient.”
“Zyxel, check on him,” he ordered, jerking his head toward his fallen brother. His emerald eyes burned with a hatred that would have elicited fear if he ’weren’t accustomed to Z’s looks. Unfortunately for the commander, Kaede also had an Oetsae to protect him from any mental attacks. “I can’t feel him.”
Kaede stopped and stared at the large crimson-and-gold naga male slithering past him.
Large, curved horns, slitted eyes, pointed ears, fangs, a forked tongue, and long black hair—these were all attributes he shared. Was this the species whose genes he had been spliced with?
< REI. FIGURE OUT WHO THIS ZYXEL IS AND WHAT SPECIES HE BELONGS TO. >
< CONFIRMED. >
Zyxel leaned over the fallen male and prodded his neck with two fingers. “He lives.”
“See? I was telling the truth.” Kaede placed Selena onto the ground and wrapped a protective arm around her. “Now lower your psy-daggers and we will be on our way.”
“Kaede, I need to speak with you,” she hissed.
“Can’t you tell I’m busy rescuing you, Selena?”
Sighing, she pushed off from his side and placed her hands on his cheeks. At any other moment, he would’ve been ecstatic, but couldn’t she see
